Ripples
by Westward Meadowlark
Summary: Cisco can tell that something is very wrong, but nobody seems to be noticing the ripples. Vibe story.


"Something on your mind, Cisco?" Dr. We-, no, Eobard Thawne asked.

"No." He continued to pace, then said, "Yes." Cisco said, turning back toward Thawne. He held his fist up, waving toward where a ring would be. Ever since he they had stuck that traitor in the Pipeline, he was dying to know how it worked, and if he could do the same for Barry.

"How did you, uh, fit your Reverse Flash suit into that little ring? Is it some sort of compressed micro tech, or…" He held up a finger, frowning. This was the man who had called him a son, and then killed him. "Actually, forget it. I don't care." After a moment's hesitation, he admitted, "Maybe a little."

Thawne shook his head, sifting through the papers for the sixth time. "Ronnie's right," he muttered. "I should have accounted for the temporal shearing."

Cisco glared at him. "Glad we're still good for something."

Thawne looked up, shaking his head slightly, his voice taking on a lighter tone. "I never underestimated your contribution, Cisco. Or Ronnie." He took a breath. "As matter of fact, do you know how many times I wish you were there with me as I rebuilt the Accelerator? It would have been a lot more fun."

"Yeah, well, doesn't change the fact that your nifty little… time sphere-"

Thawne grinned. "-Is that what you're calling it?"

"Whatever it's called!" Cisco burst. "It's gonna blow."

"Not if you cement the tiles with cobalt resin that will prevent degradation in conditions of extreme heat." He waved the papers, emphasising his point with a smirk.

"Okay." Cisco mumbled, turning to head out the door. "Fine, we'll try that."

As he walked down the ramp, Thawne called, "That's it? That's all?"

Spinning on his heel and throwing his hands in the air, Cisco yelled, "Well, what do you want me to say?" What did the guy expect? A heartfelt apology?

Throwing the papers to the side, Thawne retorted, "I don't know, Cisco. I thought that out of anyone that you'd be a little more understanding of my predicament. I don't belong here." he spat, leaning on the glass. "These barbaric… times." He circled his cell. "It's like living amongst the dead."

The dead. Like he was supposed to be. Cisco shuffled forward, his voice low and steady, but secretly filled with burning hate. "Is that what you told yourself, when you killed me?"

Thawne stared back at Cisco, comprehending his statement. "What?" he queried. "What did you say?" The engineer felt somewhat triumphant that he had managed to catch him off guard, though his face didn't show it.

Cisco glanced away for a moment, his confidence falling. Why should he tell him anything? But he found the words forming before he could stop them. "It was an alternate timeline. One that Barry reset." He licked his lips. "I never forgot it. It just… kept coming back to me. And I can still picture… the way you looked at me when you called me a son."

Thawne closed his eyes, lost in his thoughts for a moment. He crossed his arms as he listened.

"You crushed my heart." Cisco continued, his voice growing hard. "With your fist." His gaze turned cold, accusing.

"Cisco." he whispered softly. "I'm sorry." Really? That's all his killer had to say?

"Yeah. It sucked." stated Cisco.

"And not for killing you, I'm sure I had a good reason." Strangely, at that, Cisco wanted to chuckle, reminding himself that his was the man that had murdered Nora Allen, the original Harrison Wells, and who knows how many more. What else should he expect? His next words, however, caught his attention.

"I'm sorry for the fact that you're able to retain traces of another timeline. You're able to see through the vibrations of the universe. It means…" Cisco strode forward, his eyes never wavering from the elder's face.

"I wasn't sure until just now."

"Sure of what?" Cisco asked nervously.

Thawne raised an eyebrow. "The night the Particle Accelerator exploded. You were affected too."

Cisco blinked, then shook his head. "What are you talking about?" he questioned quietly. He wasn't a meta, he knew that much. He had no powers. Cisco snorted. "No. I wasn't." But his face betrayed his uncertainty. The strange feelings he had been getting lately, and the dreams… but still, no.

"Don't be afraid Cisco. A great and… honorable destiny awaits you, now I only hope that as you're living your great adventure, that you remember who gave you that life, and that it was given out of love." Thawne whispered.

Cisco couldn't believe it. After everything that he had done, the pain that he had caused, and he dared to take credit for something that didn't even exist.

Cisco continued to stare at Thawne, then abruptly turned around and hurried out the door, only slowing to close the Pipeline. Emotions swirled around inside him, but the most powerful was definitely hate. Hate that Thawne existed, hate for what he had done, hate for being able to taunt him while his voice never wavered.

The others could hear his pounding footsteps echoing up the hallway and into the Cortex long before they saw him. As he stomped into the room, everyone turned to look at him. Caitlin frowned, puzzled that her best friend was angry and stressed. That was not a look she was used to seeing on Cisco's face.

"Hey." she murmured, walking over to him as he passed. "You okay?"

The only response that she got was a short, "I hate him." Then he stalked off into the treadmill room, grabbing a screwdriver along the way and gripping it so hard that his knuckles turned white. Caitlin and Barry glanced at each other before quickly following, aware of the bewildered stares of the others.

Barry leaned on the doorframe as he watched Cisco fiddle with a small device, most likely one of his inventions. He was sitting on the treadmill, his head down. He cursed as his hand slipped and a screw went flying through the air, rolling to a stop at Barry's feet. Cisco hadn't noticed them, facing the other side of the room. Caitlin looked over his shoulder as Barry bent to pick it up.

Meanwhile, Cisco muttered something about, "Idiot person… liar… traitorous jerk". He suddenly yelled in frustration and flung the device into the wall, resulting in it bouncing off and breaking into dozens of pieces, scattered across the floor. He breathed heavily, burying his face in his hands. Caitlin stared at him with wide eyes, and Barry's thought's mimicked her own. What had happened down there?

She slowly walked forward, the light clicking of her steps alerting him. His head jerked up, and his gaze softened when he saw her. His brown eyes were filled with unspilled tears. He stayed silent though, sighing through his nose when Barry set the screw next to him.

Caitlin gently sat down next to him on the treadmill, unsure of what to do. She and Cisco were best friends. They knew each other better than almost anyone else, and right now she was sitting next to a stranger.

Well, not a complete stranger. She repressed a small grin as he dug around in his pockets, eventually pulling out a bright blue-raspberry sucker. How he only had two cavities while eating candy all day was beyond her.

None of the lights were on, leaving the room dark and cold. "What do you want?" Cisco asked with a monotone voice. He didn't unwrap the sucker, just twisting it between his fingers.

Barry sucked in a breath, paused for a moment, and then asked, "Are you okay?"

Cisco didn't answer, fidgeting with the screw.

Frowning, Caitlin said, "Cisco?" She was becoming really worried. It was rare that he would stay silent, even when he was upset.

He sighed, looking up. His black hair seemed darker in the dim lighting. "Guys, I…" he trailed off, then started again. "I just need to be alone, okay?" Noticing their uneasy expressions, he added, "Please?"

Barry nodded, pausing for Caitlin to get up as well. She still looked doubtful, but didn't protest. The door closed with a soft _thud_ behind them, and they rejoined the group. Ronnie walked up to Caitlin, a questioning expression on his face.

Professor Stein, looking slightly bewildered himself, asked sharply, "What is the conundrum about?"

Shaking his head, Barry replied softly, "We don't know."

His gaze didn't leave the door for a good two minutes. He felt guilty for keeping the information from them, but… This was something he had to deal with. He had already caused enough trouble for the team, and not just with his gadgets.

The entire reason Snart was not in prison was because of him. _He_ had made the cold gun. _He_ had left it unguarded, and it had been stolen. _He_ had told him who Barry was! He felt like a liability of sorts.

Sighing, Cisco tucked the sucker back into his pocket. Honestly, he felt like throwing up.

It was very possible for Thawne to have lied, but there also were too many coincidences to ignore.

Say, for a moment, that he was affected. As cool as the prospect of having powers was, it just didn't click.

Barry, in a sense, had an easy decision. His mother was murdered by Thawne, and his dad sent to prison. Sure, it more than slightly cliche, but he had plenty of past tragedies to push him to become The Flash. There was no question about it. Barry Allen was a hero.

And it wasn't like Cisco didn't like helping people. But his place was behind the scenes, creating the tech and working with Caitlin. He had a taste of the action when fighting Hartley, being kidnapped by Snart, and even taking that bee for Ray.

In all honesty, it scared him. He knew how much death hurt, both physically and emotionally. It astounded him that Barry would go out and risk his life every day to keep Central City safe. He had to have some serious guts to go out and do that.

And he was happy to be the funny, nerdy guy who loved to mess with stuff.

He wiped his eyes, a few drops spilling over. Sniffing quietly, he gathered the broken pieces together to reassemble later. It took some time, but once everything was set out onto a small table in the corner, he sat down on the treadmill again.

So, if he was a meta that had no desire to actually go out in the field, but didn't know what to actually do with his powers…

What did that make him?

 **This one was a lot of fun to write. Well, not really** _ **fun**_ **, per say, but really interesting. The thing that I love about Cisco is that he is a three-dimensional character. He is introduced as fun loveable nerd, and at his heart he is, but you can also see his character grow and evolve. He has feelings, emotions, grudges, and obsessions *cough movies cough cough* And sometimes I feel like people forget that he is prone to despair and distress, and that it is a part of life.**

 **I can not wait for season two to come out, and I am excited to see what happens to our favorite hispanic scientist.**

 **Cisco throwing something at a wall is OOC. I want to address a certain question that has plagued the minds of many. How to make a character OOC but not OOC?**

 **There needs to be two things.**

 **1) The other characters need to acknowledge that said person is not acting like their usual self. Especially if it is a close friend/family member. They will know when something is wrong.**

 **And 2) In the case of the absence of other people, the character ALWAYS needs a motive to act the way they do. And it needs to be a substantial one that is explained.**

 **What do you think? Did I do a good job?**

 **And if you liked this, don't worry, there will be more to follow soon.**

 **-OWolfunderfullMoonO**


End file.
